Improved quicksilver-furnace and condenser



H 2- SH e Bts -SHet I. W T. W. DRESSER- Quicksilver Furnace.

No. 85,371. I Patented Dec. 29.1868.

Q) i d I a d z a i J m WITNESSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. W. DRESSER.

. Y Quicksilymr Furnace. No. 85,371, Patented. Dec. 29,1868.

WIT V5 .IVVENTOR NNNN Ens, Pnow-Lnm n mr. Wamzn um. DV 0.

dished fits-i125 stint THOMAS W. DRESSER, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

Letters Patent No. 85,371, dated December 29, 1868.

IMPROVED QUICKSILVIEiR-PURNACE AND CONDENSER The Schedule referred to inthese Letters Patent and making part of the name.

To all wl om it may concern Be it l nown that I, THOMAS W. DRESSER, ofthe vention or improvements without further invention or.

experiment. I V

The object of my invention is to provide an improved furnace andcondenser, for the reduction of quicksilver, and other ores of a similarnature, so that the whole operation is conducted with a very small lossof the vapor, which, together with the gases generated by the heat ofthe furnace, is drawn and forced through tanks of water, thusefl'ectually condensing all that is capable of it, before the residue isallowed to escape by the fines.

It also relates to an improved method of constructing the foundation, sothat the waste which nsually 4 occurs, by the quicksilver passingthrough the foundation, is effectually avoided, and-the whole operationis rendered more economical.

This is effected by constructing a foundation, upon which I place adouble-inclined plane, of iron or other impervious metal, the two planesmeeting and forming a trough in the centre, by which any escapingquicksilveris carried to a receiver. The planes may be plastered andpolished, and used with or without the iron.

Above this, the furnace is finished with a grate, for fire, a chamberfor the ore, over and through which the heat passes, and avapor-chamber,with diaphragms or walls extending across it at intervals. These wallshave openings, alternately on one side and the other, and a. series oftroughs between them, through'which water is constantly passing.

Above the furnace is placed a tank of water, with a siphon-tube leadingfrom it to another tank below. A tube, leading from the top of thevapor-chamber, enters this siphon-tube, andthe water, passing down theformer, draws and forces the quicksilver-vapor into the lower tank, inwhich andduring its passage it is completely condensed.

Still another chamber is so arranged and connected with the lowersiphon-tank as 'to take the water, and lead it into an upright tube,about one-third of the distance from the top, so that the weight of thewater acts on a series of buckets on an endless chain, and forces themdown, each carrying with it a portion. of vapor, drawn from theprincipal chamber, and condensing it, thus doing about double the workthat the siphon would do alone.

The escape-fines 112N621. series of valves or dampersfor stopping orchanging the direction of the escaping gases, while a final condenser isconstructed at the base of the chimney.

To more fully explain my invcntiomreference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, of which- Figure .1,sheet 1,} is a side elevation of my furnace, wlth a section of thecondensers.

Figure 2, sheet 1, is a side sectional elevation of the furnace. v

Figure 3, sheet- 2,'jis a plan of the foundation-plates.

Figure 4, sheet 2, is a horizontal sectional view of. the furnace.

Figure 5,'sheet 2, shows one of the cross-walls or partitions of thevalve-chamber.

Similar letters of reference in each of the figures indicate like parts.

A A, fig. 3, are plates of iron, which are laid on the foundation, andslightly inclined towards each other, their inner edges terminating in atrough or channel, .8, or the foundation may be plastered and polished,if desired.

G 6 represent the first course ofmasonry for the superstructure, whichis to be built upon these iron plates or polished walls.

By this device, all quicksilver which may pass from the furnace will becollected in the passages D D, between the courses, and carried to thechamber or channels B, and thence to a receiving-tank, E, where it iscollected.

The upper part of the furnace consists 'of the fireplace F, the fuelbeing placed on the grate G.

The ore is fed into the ore-chamber H through the \door I, and may beremoved, after the operation is complete, by the door J.

The chamber being suitably charged, the heat from the fire passesthrough and over the ore in the chains her, and the mercurial vapor andother gases are carried through the perforated wall K into thevaporchamber.

This chambcr is divided by walls, L L L L, into compartments, as shown.

- Near the top, these walls are pierced, as shown at figs. 4 and 5, M M,alternately on one side and on the other, so that the heated vapor shalltraverse as much space as possible in its passage.

To allow a circulation of the lower and cooler strata, without mixingthe whole, I construct similar openings, N, near the bottom of thechamber.

Between the walls L L, and near the openings M, are placed troughs O 0,eirt'cnding entirely across the chamber, and connected by passages P B,through the partition-walls.

An outer pipe, P, serves to discharge the surplus water.

The water is fed into the first trough by a pipe, R, fig. 2, from themain supply-tank S.

Close doors, '1 T, are so placed as to'allow a convenient cleaning ofthe troughs.

At the bottom of the vapor-chamber is a series of discharge-pipes, U U,fig. 4, which empty into the receiving-trough V, and then into a tank,W.

From the tank S, a bent or siphon-tube, X, leads downward into the"essel Y, where it discharges within the. perforated cylinder a.

A pipe, I), from the top of the vapor-chamber, enters the pipe X in sucha manner that the flowing water in the latter surrounds the mouth of l),and creates a vacuum, which mustbe filled" by vapor from the eh mber.This is carried down with the water, and, during its passage, thevaluable part is condensed, and deposited in the vessel Y,

A pipe, 0, leading irom near the top of this vessel,

of the chamber, after which the air and refuse gases are permitted toescape through the perforated plate 7:, which is, at all times, belowthe surface of the water.

The vapor is supplied by a pipe, 1', from the vaporchamber, a vacuumbeing caused by the action of the buckets y.

The endless chain, with its buckets, passes over rollers, at the top andbottom, as shown in fig. 1.

The lower partof the vapor-chamber communicates with a condenser, j, atthe base of the chimney, by a passage, K, which is regulated bya valveor damper, I.

The upper part of the chamber communicates with the two escape-fines orchimneys m a by a passage, -'r.

The three valves or dampers t t t serve to closethe passages, or toregulate them, at pleasure.

By constructing a furnace and condenser in this manner, I have one whichis economical, and in which 1 save nearly all the mercury, and with noloss, by leakage through the foundation, as is always the case whenconstructed of stone or brick, as in ordinary furnaces.

Having thus descri ed my invention,

What 1 claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is-

1. The separatirig-walls L L in the vapor-chamber, with the upperconmeeting-passages M M, and lower passages N N, together with thecondensiilg-tronghs o o, the whole constructed and operatedsubstantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The siphon water-pipe X, and the pipe I) from the vapor chamber, orequivalent de\'ice,fin' \\ll',ll(ll'.'t\\'- ing the vapor by means ol'nvacuum, and condensing it in its passage, substantially as hereindescribed.

3. The cylinder c, with the buckets r operating as shown, for producinga vacuum and ibrcing the vapor beneath the water in the chamber 11, andtlie \'apor pipe 1', constructed and operated substantially as and forthe purpose described.

4. The two flucs m and n, with the dampers Lift, for regulating thedraught, or by closing them entirely, to cause a draught through thesiphon-tube, and The condensing-chamberj, substantially as described.

Constructing theiiunnlation, with the inclined im pervious plates A Aand the channels 1) between the courses, together with thecollecting-channel 13, substantially as and for the purpose described.

b. A draught, as created by the siphon-tube X, the endless chain and itsbuckets r g, or equivalent device, for condensing the vapors and gaseswhich escape from chemical works, for rctorting gold and silveramalgams, and for witlnlrawing and condensing gold that would be lost inmelting and refining, substantially as herein described. v

In witness whereof, l have hereunto set my hand and seal.

I THOMAS \V. DRESSER. [1... 3.]

\Vitnesses:

J OHN H. Moons, OHAS. SILENT.

